Flushing-tank.



110.755,16@ PATENTED MAR.22,19'04. o. H. PHILLIPS.

PLUSHIN'G TANK. APPLIOATION. FILED KAY 12, 1902:. I0 MODEL.

UNITED STATES Patented March 22, 1904.

PATENT FFIci.v

CHARLESH. PHILLTPS, on MALDEN, MASSACHUSETTS.

FLUSHING-TANK.

SPECIFICATIONJforming part of Letters Patent No. 755,16, dated March 22, 1904. Application iled May' 12, 1902'. Serial No. 106,849. (No model.)

.To all whomV t may concern: Be it known that LCHARLES H. PHILLIPS, a citizen vof the United vState's,.ai\d aresident of Malden, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and. useful Improvements in Flushing-Tanks, of which the following is a specification.

VThe present invention relates to an improvement in flushing-tanks for Water-closets.

Heretofore flushing-tanks for water-closets have been generally provided with means for opening and closin-gthe inlet-valve consisting of a ioat connected therewith for operating the valve to open the same when the tank is emptied andv close the same when the tank is iilled. The floats although they have obtained in great use are principally objectionable by reason of their liability to leak. When a float leaks, even though the leak is so small as to be incapable of being discovered by ordinary means, the ball gradually fills with Water, and the tank is thereby rendered inoperative. According to the present invention I have entirely avoided the use of floats forl operating the inlet-valve of flushing-tanks, em-

ploying in their stead a receptacle the Weight of which when lled with water operates.-

through connections to close the inlet-valve. A receptacle which is thus lled With Water avoids the objections incident to the use of' float-valves above referred to, because gradual leaking will not render the apparatus inoperative. The iioats are further objectionablein the form in which they are generally used by reason of the fact that they rise gradually with the rise of water in the tank and gradually close the inlet-valve, exerting only a pressure against the inlet-valve equal to the pressure ot' the water upon the opposite side tending to open it. a closing of the valve with'Y a pressure substantially equal to that tending to open itthat is, a balancing of pressures upon the valve. In some tank-lling devices of which I am aware the weight of waterhas been used tooperate' devices lfor closing the inletvalve; but in such cases, as in the case of the loat-valve, the weight of the water was nearly or exactly equal to the pressure or force tending to open the valve, resulting,

This` results in as before, in a balancing of pressures upon the valvein its closed position. It is desirable in devices of this character that the inletvalve'should be closed and held closed witha pressure exceeding the pressure-or forces tending'to'open it, and according to the present invention means are provided for filling the receptacle above referred to so that its Weight shall be greater than is sufficient to close the valve and so that an excess of pressure shall be exerted thereby for maintaining the valve in its closed position-that is,

- the pressures or forces upon the valve are unsuch deviceA the valve was not suitable for use in connection with flushing-tanks` being of the butterfly-throttle type, in Which there is noA orclose the valve, and such device would not, it' is conceived, be useful in connection with valves which close against the pressure of water.'k Furthermore, the use of a closed receptacle is objectionable because of the excessive pressure required to force water into the vessel, owing to the resistance offered by the air contained therein.

,to close-the same When the height of Water in I ythe tank has reached the desired level; but in tendency of the water-pressure either to open I am also aware thatit hasf been proposed to produce an apparatus for regulating the supply of Water to reservoirsthat are fed from street-mains in which an apparatus for opening and closing thesupply-pipe was employed which included a movable feedtank mounted outside of the reservoir into which the supply-pipe discharged andwhich was connected by a flexible tube with the reservoir, so that the latter was filled from the movable feed-tank. Suitable connections between the movable feed-tank and the supply-v valve were proposed, the whole being arranged x so that when the reservoir was nearly filled the movable feed-tank would settle down to a level with the reservoir and through the connections clqse the supply-valve. Then when water was drawn from the reservoir the water flowing from the movable feed-tank through the fiexible tube into the reservoir was intended to permit the said feed-tank to rise, thereby opening the supply-valve and permitting more water to fiow in to replace that drawn out. This apparatus is objectionable by reason of the noise which the water flowing under high pressure into the movable feedtank would produce. Itis also objectionable by reason of the fact that the velocity of the water fiowing into the movable feed -tank would exert a force thereon by the impact of the water striking the movable feed tank, thereby rendering the device operative to close the supply-valve at different times, depending upon the pressure in the supply-pipe. Moreover, in operation the valve-operating devices will only produce a balanced closing pressure on the supply-valve, so that it would be liable to open under water-hammer in the supplyplpe.

The object, broadly stated, of my invention has been to produce a flushing-tank for waterclosets in which the inlet-valve is controlled by mechanism comprising an open receptacle for water adapted to contain and retain suficient water to close and to hold closed the inlet-valve and an automatic device for emptying the receptacle when the tank is emptied, and preferably after the tank has been emptied, and for filling the receptacle when the tank is file, and preferably after the tank has been Another object of the invention is to provide means for refilling the bowl after the fiushing-tank has been filled.

Other features of the invention will be pointed out in connection with the description thereof.

The present invention consists in the devices and combinations of devices hereinafterv described, and particularly defined in the clauses of the claim.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 illustrates the preferred form of the invention shown in sectional elevation, and Fig. 2 is a plan view of the device shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, the tank 2 consists of a rectangular box provided with an inlet-pipe 3 and an outlet-pipe 4, adapted to be conneted, respectively, to a water-supply and to the closet-bowl in the usual manner. The inlet-valve is substantially the same in construction and mode of operation as the inlet-valve usually employed in fiushing-tanks and known as the ball-cock valve, because of its usual association with the fioating ball for operating it, and it consists of a piston 5,

sliding in a valve-casing 6, which isrsecured to the tank 2 and is provided with inlet and outlet passages 7 and 8, said piston beingarranged to slide past the outlet-passage and set against a suitable valve-seat 9. The outlet-passage 8 is connected to the pipe 10, which extends nearly to the bottom of the tank in order to diminish the noise caused by the infiowing water when the valve is open. The preferred form of outlet-valve comprises a valve proper, 11, secured toY a suitable guide-stem 12 and arranged to close the outlet-pipe by seating against the open end thereof at 13, the valvestem 12 being connected to the usual operating-lever 14. To said valve-'stem 12 is secured a hub 15, which is adapted to enter a fixed cup 16, but is of such size and shape that small spaces are provided between itself and the bottom and sides of said cup when it enters the latter. The object of this arrangement is to diminish the shock and noise which would otherwise occur when the valve closes by causing the water in the cup 16, which is filled whenever the tank is filled, to be displaced by the entrance of the hub 15. This water escapes through the narrow spaces between said hub and cup, and thus forms a water cushion or dash pot, which insures the gradual closing of the valve. The cup 16 may also serve as a guide for the valve-stem 12 by having its center made tubular, as at 17, said .tubular portion serving also to prevent leakage of water from said cup when the valve is open. The outlet-valve just described forms no feature of the present invention, but is described herein for the purpose of explaining the complete apparatus in which the invention is preferably embodied.

The lever 18, pivoted upon the casing 6 of the valve, is provided with a portion adapted to engage the piston 5, above referred to, and carries upon one end a counterweight 22, normally tending to turn the lever 18 in the direction to permit the pressure in the supply-pipe 3 to open the inlet-valve, and upon the other end of the said lever 18 is carried receptacle 19, adapted to contain Water, and which is received within a casing 20, carried by'a pipe 23, which connects by means of passage 24 with the outlet-pipe 4 and which may conveniently be referred to as an overfiow-outlet. The vreceptacle 19 is of such capacity that when filled with water and when the counterweight 22 is submerged, and thereby buoyed up to the extent of the weight of water which it displaces, the said receptacle exerts through the lever 18 a pressure upon the piston 5 in excess of the opposing pressure of water upon such piston. By this means the inlet-val ve is closed and held closed against the pressure of the water. The casing 2O is somewhat larger than the receptacle 19, so as to permit water fiowing from the receptacle 19 to fall between it and the casing and to run out through the passage 24 into the outlet-pipe for a purpose hereinafter referred to in connection with the description of the operation of the machine. The casing 20 is provided with a cover 23X, which has a IOO IOS

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l -hole 24.X therein, through which a link passes,

- let-pipe 4.

which connects the end of the lever 18 with the receptacle 19. 1f the Water in the tank by any accident should rise above the level of the cover 24 of the casing 20, it would How through the hole 24 into the casing 2O and through pipe 23 and passage 24 into the out- Siphonic connections are provided for filling the receptacle 19 when the tank is filled and for emptying the receptacle when the tank is emptied. The siphonic connection consists of the tube or pipe 21, bent to ferm a siphon, one leg of which extends nearly to the bottom 0f the tank to a point below the lowest level to which the water in the tank sinks, so as to prevent` floating dust or things from entering the bottom of the pipe, and the other leg of which extends downward into the receptacle 19 to a point above the position of the bottom of the receptacle `19 when it is in its highest position. The bend of the Siphon 21 is'"-located at the highest level to which the water rises in the tank. The virtues oi' this construction will be set forth in connection with the description of the operation of the apparatus.

The counterweight 22 consists of a receptacle provided with holes 26 near its top, through which water may ow to the inside thereof, and having at its bottom a mass 25 of greater specific gravity than water, and which is made, approXimately,to balance the weight of the empty receptacle 19. The counterweight is hung so that it is immersed in the water when the tank is full. At this time,there fore, the counterweight, owing to the buoyant eEect of the water which is displaced thereby, exerts a smallerpull upon the-lever 18, tending to open the inlet-valve, than it does when the water has fallen in the tank, so that it no longer covers the said counterweight.

The operating-lever 14 is pivoted upon a part of; the casing 6 of the inlet-valve and is connected at one end to the outlet-valve 11,v and is provided at its opposite end with a connection by which it may be operated. If the operating-lever is pulled down, it will open the valve 11, and a pawl 27, provided with a shoulder 28,will catch the detent'29, pivoted upon the side of the tank 2, and hold the outlet-valve open until the end of the lever 18,

which normally stands in position to engage.

a portion of the detent 29 and prevents it from tipping, falls, which permits said Adetent to turn and to release the pawl 27, holding the operating-lever 14, so that the outlet-valve may close. This provides an automatic device for closing the outlet-valve when thetank is completely empty or emptied` tothe extent that the inlet-valve has been opened in the manner hereinaftendescribed. The detent 29 may be thrown out of operation, if desired, so that the outlet-valve will only be held open so long as the'user desires.

The operation of the illustrated embodiment of the invention isA as follows: Assuming the apparatus to be in the position illustrated in Fig. 1 ready for operation, the user pulls upon the operating-lever 14, thereby opening the outlet-valve, and the latch 27 catches upon the catch 29, the end of the lever 18 preventing the catch from'tipping when the pull by the user ceases. Thus the outlet-valve is held open. The water in the tank iows rapidly out through the outlet-pipe, flushing the bowl. The siphon 21 slowly withdraws the water from the receptacle 19 and the counterweight 22 as soon as suiflcient water has been withdrawn from the receptacle 19 by the siphon 21 pulls downits end of the lever 18, thereby opening the inlet-valve and permitting water to iiow in through the inlet-pipe 3 to lill the tank. The siphon 21 will have emptied the receptacle 19 soon after the inlet-valve is opened, and air will be permitted to iiow into the siphon 21, breaking the water column. As soon as the inlet-valve is opened the end of the lever18opposite the catch 29 will fall and permit the operating-lever 14 to fall, thereby permitting the valve 11 to close. The water will then continue to iiow into the tank 2 until its level rises above the bend ofthe siphon 21, when said Siphon-pipe will be filledwith water and water will begin to low into receptacle 19. As soon as a certain Vamount of water has flowed into receptacle 19 the counterweight 22, having a diminished eect yupon the lever 18, the receptacle 19 will Jall,

raising the counterweight 23 and closing the inlet-valve. At Vthis time, however, thereceptacle 19 will not have been completely lled, and the level of the water in the tank being higher than the level of the water in the receptacle 19, and the two being connected by the Siphon 21, water will continue to flow into receptacle, lilling it, and thereby causing an excess of pressure to be exerted upon the lever 18, tending to close the inlet-valve. The arrangement and proportionate sizes of the parts are such that the level of the water in the tank when the receptacle 19 is filled will still be somewhat higher than the level of the water in the receptacle-that is, higher than the upper edge of the receptacle. Water will therefore continue to flow from the tank into the receptacle, overflowing from the receptacle into the casing 20', and passing down through pipe 23 and passage 24 will liow through the outlet-pipe 4 into the bowl and refill it. y The flow into the bowl will continue only until the level of the water in the tank is lowered to the level of the upper end of the receptacle 19 in its lower position, asshown in Fig. 1. Then the levels of the two bodies of water connected by the Siphon being the same water`will no I oo a number of features of the preferred embodiment are of considerable practical importance and form the subject of some of the claims, the broader view of the invention is not intended to be limited thereto.

In its narrower aspects one feature of importance of the present invention consists in making the receptacle which contains the water for closing the valve an open receptacle as distinguished from a closed one, in which the water would flow in against the pressure of the air contained therein much less readily than it would into an open receptacle and requiring a considerable head to effect the iiow of sufcient water to close the valve. The

- receptacle is located so that its upper end may limitedto the use of a siphon or siphonic connections for filling and emptying the valveoperating receptacle; but other means may be employed in its stead. The siphon 21 secures important advantages, which are made the subject of certain of the claims in that it provides a single device which discharges several functions. It empties the receptacle, fills the receptacle, and conveys water from the tank to the bowl for the refill.

The expression siphonic connections in some cases employed in the claims is intended to include any sort of siphonic connections suitable to discharge the function of the siphon 2l irrespective of Whether such connections are embodied in one tube or more.

The best embodiment of the present invention known to me contemplates a siphon of restricted size compared with the size of the receptacle which its duty is to empty and to fill, so that the Siphon will complete the emptying of the receptacle only after the tank Ahas been substantially completely emptied through the outlet-valve.

One feature of novelty of the present device resides in the construction by Virtue of which the filling of the receptacle begins only after the tank has been substantially filled. By this means gradual closing of the inlet-valve is avoided. By the present construction after the water reaches the level of the top of the Siphon the filling of the valve-operating receptacle begins and continues uninterruptedly untill completed, when the inlet-valve will be completely closed and held closed. It is to be noted that the receptacle and the siphon which fills and empties it are so constructed and arranged that the said receptacle is adapted to contain and retain sufiicient wa- /ter not only to close but to hold closed the inlet -valve when the tank has been filled. This provision clearly distinguishes the present construction from those tanks Which periodically discharge their contents and again automatically refill to discharge again.

It is desired to point out that the excess of pressure tending to close the inlet-valve is advantageous in connection with an inletvalve which closes against the pressure of the Water and that by the present construction, no matter what the conditions of use may be, the inlet valve will always be maintained closed when the apparatus is not in operation. Thus if a leak should occur in the receptacle it would operate to lower the level of the water in the tank, as Well as in the receptacle, until the inlet-valve would be opened, and water would continue then to flow into the tank in the usual Way until the tank was filled and the inlet-valve again closed by the filling of the receptacle. There Would beV no gradual leaking of Water through the valve under pressure, and consequently there would bc onlya periodical refilling of the tank, and the inlet-valve would be held closed with certainty during the intervals between its opening. The consequent waste of water would be slight.

A feature of the present invention of importance consists in the construction by virtue of which the bowl is refilled after use.

One feature Which contributes to the utility and advantage of the apparatus consists in the fact that the inlet-Water is admitted to the tank in the first instance and the valve-operating receptacle is filled therefrom instead of, as has been proposed, admitting the water to the receptacle and permitting it to fiow therefrom into the tank. The advantage is obvious that the tank being fixed the reaction of the stream of Water projected thereinto does not affect the operation of the valve-operating receptacle, which if subjected to the force of a stream of incoming Water would be liable to be operated thereby. Itis much to be preferred for this reason and for other reasons apparent to those skilled in the art to fill the receptacle from the tank rather than to fill the tank from the receptacle.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is- 1. The combination with a tank having an outlet, of an inlet-valve and automatic means for opening the inlet-valve when the tank is emptied and closing the inlet-valve when the tank is filled comprising an open receptacle for water which is filled and emptied by such means, the capacity of which receptacle is such that when filled it will exert an excessive valve-closing pressure on the inlet-valve, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a tank having an outlet, of an inlet-pipe discharging directly into the tank and provided with an inlet-valve, means for opening and Closing the inlet-valve comprising an open receptacle adapted to contain and retain sufhcient Water to close and to hold closed the inlet-valve, and automatic devices for emptying receptacle when the tank is emptied and for filling the receptacle from IOO IIO

\ operating to retard the emptying of the re-.

of which isadapted to close the inlet-valve4 v and means for filling said receptacle from the tank to close the inlet-valve when the tank is lled and to empty said receptacle to 'open the inlet-valve when the tank is emptied, substantially as described.

4:. rIhe combination with a tank having an outlet, of an inlet-valve, means for opening and closing the inlet-valve comprising a receptacle adapted to contain and retain sufficient water to close and hold closed the inletvalve and automatic devices for emptying the receptacle when lthe tank .is emptied and for filling the receptacle when the tank is filled,

ceptacle so that the emptying shall not be complete until the tank is substantially emptied, substantially as described.

5. The combination with a tank having an outlet, 'of an inlet-valve, means for opening and closing the inlet-valve comprising an open receptacle adapted to contain and retain sufcient water to close and hold closed the inletvalve, and a siphon connecting the receptacle with the tank operating to empty the receptacle when the tank is emptied and to fill the receptacle when the tank is filled, substantially as described. y

6. The combination with a tank having an outlet, of an inlet-valve, means for opening and closing the inlet-valve comprising an open receptacle adapted to containl suiiicient water to close the inlet-valve and a siphon for filling the receptacle when the tank is filled constructed and arranged to empty the receptacle after the tank has been emptied, said receptacle being of such capacity that when partially filled it will operate to close the inlet- Valve, and when completely filled will operate to exert an excess of pressure upon the inlet-valve to hold it closed, substantially as described.

7 The combination with a tank having an outlet, of an inlet-valve, means for opening and closing the inlet-Valve comprising an open receptacle adapted to contain and retain sufficient water to closeand hold closed the inlet- Valve and siphonic connections between the,

closing pressure on the inlet-valve and siphonic connections between the receptacle and the tank operating to empty the receptacle when the tank is emptied and to fill the receptacle Jfrom the tank after the tank has been filled, substantially as described.

9. A fiushing-tank having, in combination a tank provided with an outlet of an inlet-pipe provided with an inlet-valve, said inlet-valve operatingv to close against the pressure ofthe supply-water, a lever for operating the inletvalve, an open receptacle hung upon said lever, said receptacle having a capacity such that when filled with water it will exert a pressure upon the inlet-valve greater than the pressure of the water opposed to it, and connections between the tank and the receptacle for emptying the receptacle when the tank is emptied and for filling the receptacle when the p tank is filled, substantially as described.

10. The combination with a tank provided with an outlet, of an inlet-pipe provided with y an inlet-valve, said inlet-valve operating to close against the pressure of the supply-water,

. a lever for operating the inlet-valve, an open receptacle for water hanging on said lever, a Siphon having one leg extended nearly to the bottom of the tank and below the lowest level of the water in the tank and having the other le'g extending into said receptacle, the bend in the siphon being located at the highest level of the water in the tank, said siphon operating to fill the receptacle and close the inletvalve when the water in the tank rises to the highest level, and thereafter to lower the level in the tank by discharging it into the receptacle, substantially as described.

11. The combination with a tank having an outlet, of an inlet-valve, means for opening and closing the inlet-valve comprising a receptacle for lwater and automatic devices for emptying the receptacle when the tank is emptied and llingthe receptacle when the tank is lled acting to deliver an additional amount of water to refill the bowl,substantially as described.

12. The combination with a tank having an outlet, of an inlet-Valve, means for opening and closing the inlet-valve comprising a receptacle, a casing therefor having an outlet to the bowl, and automatic devices for emptying the receptacle when the tank is emptied and filling the receptacle when the tank is filled acting to deliver an additional amount of water to refill the bowl, substantially as described.

13. The combination with a tank having an outlet, of an inlet-valve, means for opening and closing the inlet-valve comprising an open receptacle adapted to contain sufficient water to close the inlet-valve, and siphonic connections for emptying the receptacle when the tank is emptied and for filling the receptacle when the tank is filled, said receptacle and siphonic connections being constructed and ar- IOO IIO

ranged so that the filling of the receptacle is started only when the tank has been filled to a predetermined level and continues beyond the time necessary to fill the receptacle so that additional water is supplied to refill the bowl, substantially as described.

14. The combination with a tank having a supply-inlet and a valve controlling the same, of a valve-operating lever, a receptacle suspended therefrom and arranged to exert a valve-closing force on the inlet-valve, means for withdrawing liquid from said receptacle when the tank empties and for supplying liquid to said receptacle when the tank ills, and a second receptacle suspended from said lever and arranged and weighted to counterbalance the valve-closing receptacle when empty, said second receptacle being normally filled with liquid and so located as to extend below the normal level of liquid within the tank, substantially as described.

15. The combination with a tank having an inlet and an outlet and valves controlling the same, of means for opening the inlet-valve when the tank empties and for closing said valve when the tank fills, an operating-lever connected to the outlet-valve, a latch pivoted to said lever and provided with a shoulder, a pivoted catch arranged to engage said shoulder when the outlet-valve is opened, and an arm movable with the means which control the inlet-valve and located in frontV of said catch when the inlet-valve is closed, substantially as described.

16. The combination with a tank having an inlet and an outlet and valves controlling the same, of means for operating the inlet-valve comprising a receptacle the weight of which is adapted to exert a closing force on said inlet-valve, means for withdrawing liquid from said receptacle when the tank empties and for supplying liquid to said receptacle when the tank fills, a latch arranged to hold the outletvalve open, and means operative with the emptying of the receptacle for releasing said latch, substantially as described.

17. The combination with a tank having a supply-inlet and an outlet and valves controlling the same, of a lever controlling the inletvalve, a receptacle suspended from said lever and arranged to exert a valve-closing force on said inlet-valve, a casing surrounding said receptacle and protecting the same from the buoyant effect of liquid in the tank, and a siphon having its longer leg located in the tank and its shorter leg located in the receptacle, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name this 9th day of May, 1902.

CHAS. H. PHILLIPS.

Witnesses:

EDWN E. BARTLETT, E. D. CHADWICK. 

